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NFL news of September 28, 2002

Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers said that he may be part of a vanishing breed – the NFL franchise quarterback – but it’s only on Monday mornings that he feels like it.

…Favre is only 32, but as he prepares to face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Lambeau Field in Green Bay he said that he often feels much older. He just doesn’t play like it, as his quarterback rating of 99.6, third in the NFC, attests after three games this season.

“It’s not like I’m an old man. But by football standards, I guess I am,” Favre said.

Favre, now playing in his 12th NFL season, said that when he saw that former NFL great Mike Webster died at age 50 on Tuesday, at least in part because of injuries Webster suffered while playing pro football for 17 seasons, it made him stop and think about his own future.

“It is a little bit tougher for me to get up on Monday mornings after Sunday games,” said Favre, who has started 160 consecutive games, an NFL record for quarterbacks. “It is a little tougher to go through a week, mentally and physically. It’s tougher to go through practice each week and try to set an example by doing it the right way and at a certain tempo. It’s hard to do that.

“I know they pay me a lot of money to do it, and in some ways that makes it even tougher. I know from my personal standpoint, I feel like I owe them. I want to be good and I know that is part of it, but what happens when you are done? The only people who really care about you when you are done, say 10 years later, is your family. If you aren’t able to do the things that you want to do with your family and the things that they want you to do with them, then it does become more difficult and it makes you take a step back and look at what you’re doing. When is enough is enough?”

It’s a question that Favre said he can’t completely answer. But he does know that he hasn’t had enough of the game yet.